Food for Thought: 7.11

Dozens of restaurants were inspected, but only seven stops make this week's Food for Thought list.

We start at the top of the list with this week's top performers:* Caprock Café at 3405 34th* Samburgers at 4447 34th* McDonald's at 5201 4th* Wing Stop at 1803 7th* A Cup of Yo at 6076 Marsha Sharp Freeway.

Now to this week's low performers.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop at 2102 Broadway was cited for 11 critical violations.* Several cold food items were above the safe temperature of 41 degrees.* Shredded chicken and cooked rice were not at least 135 degrees.* Employees' drinks were not covered.* An employee was not wearing gloves while cutting limes.* Raw chicken and beef were stored above fish and shrimp.* The hand sink was blocked, and there was no hot water at the front bar because of a leak.* The inspector noted that there were a number of flies in the kitchen and the bar area.* Spray bottles were not labeled.* There were no thermometers in the reach-in coolers.* Kitchen utensils were broken.* Due to the number and the nature of the violations, the inspector says management did not demonstrate food safety knowledge.Management tells us, they are now under new management, and that everyone in the restaurant will go through a class with the health department.They say all violations have been corrected.

Next we head to IHOP at 1627 University; they had nine critical violations.* Sliced tomatoes were thrown out because they were above 41 degrees.* Employees used cloth towels, instead of disposable towels, to dry their hands. Employees did not wash their hands before putting on gloves or when changing tasks.* There were no paper towels at a hand sink.* Sliced tomatoes were spoiled, and eggs were cracked.* An uncovered container of berries was in a container with raw beef.* There were flies and a grasshopper in the kitchen and food storage area.* A box of utensils was on top of an open container of powered detergent.* The inside of the ice machine was dirty.* And the inspector notes, due to the number and nature of the violations management did not demonstrate food safety knowledge.Management was unavailable for comment. The report shows most violations were corrected during the inspection.